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Showing results for tags 'Unique Identifier'.
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Thanks to the blog post linked below where it was discovered that your unique ID was being passed to MS Cloud services in plain text, I've found the same unique ID located in the Windows 10 registry. http://annoyedmicrosoftuser.blogspot.com/2015/10/microsoft-stop-sending-user-identifiers.html The same ID passed in plain text to the cloud is located in the Windows 10 registry under: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Census\MSACIDs The above screenshot is from Window 10 build 10240. I'll be updating OS build to confirm it persists across builds. It was found while logged into Windows 10 with my Microsoft account - not a local account, so YMMV. Originally I used the info in that blog post to verify his results under Windows 7 and IE11. I logged into my Microsoft account and found the CID with Developer Tools (F12) on the Network tab. (The CID is "yellowed-out" in all screenshots) Notice at the top right of the screenshot how Microsoft has conveniently recorded information about every PC I've used to test Windows 10. Stopped capturing network data, closed & reopened IE, started recording network data again and logged into OneDrive to find the same CID. This information persists across hardware, it is not an "anonymous identifier." It is directly linked to your MS account, in plain text, for the majority of Windows 10 users who do not use local accounts. I have Windows 10 and Windows 7 on separate physical hard drives and I physically swapped them out to test this. What does this mean to the average user? Probably not much yet, but I'm sure the blackhats are already on the case. Should we get CID tattoos now or later? One of us! One of us!
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- Windows 10
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